Obama dines with Romney. Chaffetz upsets musicians. Utah's members of Congress take home superlative titles.
Happy Thursday. Washingtonian magazine says Rep. Rob Bishop is the third-best dressed member of Congress, an honor bestowed on the Utah Republican for the standard three-piece suits he often dons at the Capitol. For the record, according to the magazine's partisan voting, Bishop was also runner up for "fashion victim."
-> Rep. Jim Matheson also won a second-place showing for least partisan member of Congress. Rep. Jason Chaffetz nabbed a third-place as best tweeter.
-> Sen. Orrin Hatch tied for second-place for wisest in the Senate. No awards were given for Utah's junior senator, Mike Lee. [Washingtonian]
Topping the news: President Barack Obama is growing gradually more confident that Republicans in Congress will agree to tax the wealthy in an attempt to stave off the upcoming fiscal cliff. [Politico] [NYTimes]
-> Rep. Jason Chaffetz fights both musicians and conservatives in his effort to drop the royalty rate paid by online radio services like Pandora. [Trib]
-> The prescription drug industry handed a pro-Hatch group $750,000 during Hatch's bid for a final term this year, the Center for Public Integrity found. [CPI]
-> Remember the guy who proudly got a Romney-Ryan face tattoo? He's changed his mind. [Politico]
Tweets of the day: From @daveweigel: "Highlight of day: Orrin Hatch accidentally bumping reporter, joking 'I just like to touch you,' then blushing. 'I'm a good Mormon boy!'"
And from @GroverNorquist: "My mom wants one. RT @ZaidJilani This painting of @GroverNorquist is awesome pic.twitter.com/V6ZtQjtH."
Happy birthday: To National Journal's Josh Smith.
In other news: Today at noon, Obama will meet with former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. A Cabinet appointment? Highly unlikely, says Kirk Jowers, a longtime Romney friend and head of the U.'s Hinckley Institute of Politics. [Fox13]
-> Sen. Mike Lee said on Mike Huckabee's radio show that raising taxes on the rich will hurt the poor. [ThinkProgress]
-> Should the U.N. General Assembly upgrade Palestine's current status, Sen. Orrin Hatch suggests the United Nations will have its U.S. funding withheld. [DNews]
-> Peg McEntee says that former Gov. Jon Huntsman is wise to align himself with bipartisan group No Labels, but doesn't see an easy road ahead for the movement. [Trib]
-> Huntsman, meanwhile, dishes on his former presidential running mates, saying the bar to entering the race was pretty low. [HuffPost]
-> After several difficult years, Utah's budget picture may actually be getting better. [UtahPolicy]
-> The Michael O. Leavitt Center for Public Policy of Southern Utah University announces the winner of its political cartoon contest. [SUUNews]
Nationally: Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, says Republicans considering the Democrat-proposed tax deal are having "impure thoughts," insisting that while the deal may happen, Republicans should want nothing to do with it. [ABCNews]
-> Obama's press secretary tells reporters that the president is "not particularly concerned" about any misinformation about the Benghazi attacks but rather "what happened and why in Benghazi." [WeeklyStandard]
-> At a Wednesday Cabinet meeting, the president singled out U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, saying she is "extraordinary" and that he "couldn't be prouder of the job she's done." [WeeklyStandard]
-> Glenn Beck tried selling a jar containing an Obama figurine and what he originally claimed was his own pee for $25,000, later revealing that the yellow liquid was actually beer. [NYDaily]
-> Romney is going to rent space in the Boston office of his son's firm, former aides say. [Herald]
Where are they?
Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [Trib]
-- Thomas Burr and Betsy Blanchard
Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/betsyblanchard